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Sports

Ryan Hall Named Executive Director of Rain City Water Polo

Hall coached the MIHS Boys Water Polo Team that won the 2010 State Championship

Rain City Water Polo, the largest water polo club in Washington State, recently appointed Ryan Hall as its new Executive Director and Head Coach. Ryan served as previous head coach of both the boys and girls programs at Mercer Island High School. Under his leadership the Mercer Island Boys team won a state championship in 2010.

Mercer Island residents and alumni of his winning water polo programs can share their congratulations with him in person today at a 5:30 pm “meet and greet”, open to the public, at the Mercerwood Shore Club at 4150 E. Mercer Way.

Ryan credits former Mercer Island High School coach Tim Reed with much of his success. “My former coach, Tim Reed, built the MIHS dynasty that won 10 state championships in a row. As head coach in 2010, I tried to use what he taught me as a player and applied that to my coaching philosophies and strategy. I was lucky enough to have a strong, extremely talented group of seniors who were equally as motivated to win a state championship and continue to build on the legacy of previous players and coaches.”

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Ryan started playing water polo at age 10. During his years at Newport High School Hall was honored as Washington State MVP in 2002 and 2003. After graduating Newport Ryan red-shirted his freshman year at Cal-Berkeley. He subsequently transferred to the University of Redlands where he became a four-time First Team All-American. In 2006 he was named SCIAC Conference Player of the Year. After his collegiate career Ryan played professional water polo in Sydney, Australia.

Since leaving the Mercer High School Water Polo program as coach, Ryan has coached ages 10 to 18 for the Rain City program since its formation. “Ryan is the perfect candidate to take on this new role,” said Rain City co-founder Kelly Sterling, “Parents and athletes from programs where he has coached continually praise his style and ability.”

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Ryan says, “Rain City Water Polo Club is at an exciting point in its growth and I’m proud to be given this opportunity to expand and lead the program to its future milestones. I want to thank the founders of Rain City and former Head Coach John Jacobson for the amazing work they have done establishing the largest club water polo program in Washington State. I am excited to jump in and build on the strong foundation to help the program fulfill its potential and help hundreds of athletes achieve their goals.”

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